What is Snapchat? And why are my kids using it?

Saturday

We talk to social media expert and educator Josh Ochs about the popular social media app Snapchat and how to avoid dangers associated with it.

Chances are that the teens and young adults you see swapping photos and “stories” on their mobile device are likely in Snapchat mode.

Q: What is Snapchat?

Snapchat is a popular photo, video, audio, and live messaging app. Users can post photos or videos to their “stories.” Stories disappear in 24 hours. Users can watch and comment on other users’ stories. A private messaging feature allows users to send private video, audio, or photos to one another. Filters are a popular aspect of the app; filters create effects over photos/videos (called “Snaps”).

Q: Why are kids — especially teens — drawn to this app?

Tweens and teens are drawn to Snapchat because their posts are temporary and disappear in 24 hours or less. If students build a long streak with their friends, they will keep posting every single day so they don’t lose their streak. Also, Snapchat offers tons of filters which kids love (they add new filters every day to encourage users to come back).

Q: What are some concerns?

Multiple law enforcement agencies came together to solve an investigation where a man was offering indecent proposals to a 14-year-old girl. Tulsa Police Department detectives posed as the intended victim in an undercover operation through Snapchat. [The predator] used the app to contact and ask the girl (who happened to be a Tulsa Police detective) for sexual acts and admitted during the conversations to trying to do the same thing with her earlier in the week.

Q: Are there any other concerns? Location capabilities with this app?

There are several reports of predators using the app to target minors. Predators and scammers use geolocation to know where your kids are.

Experts have warned parents that Snapchat can encourage addictive behaviors with tweens and teens.

Due to the temporary nature of the app, some tweens and teens feel like they can share riskier content because it doesn't show up on their feed or their parent's phone bill.

A streak is given to users who have sent each other Snaps consistently for two days or more. A fire emoji (🔥) will appear next to a friend’s name along with a number. This indicates that you are on a streak and the number indicates how many days the streak has been going.

What parents can do to keep their kids safe on apps like Instagram and Snapchat?

1. Before giving your student access to apps like Instagram and Snapchat, download the app first, spend some time becoming familiar with it, then determine if it’s safe for your student to use.

2. Remind your student that anything they post on social media (including temporary posts on Snapchat) has the ability to last forever.

3. When your student has a solid understanding of their online footprint, then Snapchat and Instagram can be used as a family in a fun and positive way.

4. If parents get involved and add their child on Snapchat, teens tend to keep their posts positive. Remind your teen that it’s OK to be silly and have fun on social media as long as they are positive and express gratitude.

5. Demonstrate the ways that negative posts can come back to hurt their reputation in the future.

SOURCE: Josh Ochs is a California-based educator who travels across the country teaching students how to build their own positive brand using social media and teaches parents how to protect their students. He runs an online program smartsocial.com.

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